Erwin Nyiregyházi composed his Erste Grosse Fantasie in the summer and autumn of 1919, and his Zweite grosse Fantasie in the spring of 1920. Although the title pages of the (self-)published editions state that these works were für Orchester, both works appeared only in versions for piano two-hands. No orchestrations of these two works have ever been found, either in manuscript or in a published orchestral score. No orchestral parts for these works are known to exist. My own research has never come across any indication of a public orchestral concert performance of either Fantasie during Nyiregyházi's lifetime.

Kevin Bazzana, the author of a recently published biography of Nyiregyházi (entitled Lost Genius,) has meticulously researched most of the surviving documents pertaining to EN's life, his pianistic career and his musical compositions. In an email, he wrote to me:

"I can guarantee you 99.99% that Nyiregyházi never orchestrated these pieces (or any others); his printed versions are “transcriptions of imaginary originals."

One of the remarkable aspects of these two Fantasies is that even though they were (self-)published in versions for piano 2-hands, a careful analysis of the music reveals that virtually every bar was composed with a full symphony orchestra in mind. While the two fantasies are indeed playable on the piano (with great technical difficulty,) it is clearly evident to the ear that this is not piano music. There are occasional indications in the scores of orchestral instruments–such as trumpets and drums. The massive sonorities and the absence of typical pianistic configurations are striking. In my opinion, these works cry out for symphonic orchestration to make their full dramatic impact.

Much of Nyiregyházi's music is strongly influenced by the late works of Franz Liszt, especially Liszt's orchestral music; but also by orchestral works by Scriabin and Mahler. Interestingly, when I interviewed Nyiregyhazi for two hour-long radio programs on KQED-FM in San Francisco in the early 1980s, he told me that when he performed certain piano works by Liszt that also existed in versions for orchestra, he often revised the piano versions to reflect the orchestral sonorities. He cited as examples of such arrangements: his performances of Liszt's Mazeppa (which N. recorded in 1924 on a hair-raising Ampico piano roll) and Liszt's Mephisto Waltz (which EN performed on his debut New York recital in Carnegie Hall on Oct. 18, 1920.) I should also note that EN performed Liszt's entire Faust Symphony on the piano at a private recital in the Bay Area home of Ronald Antonioli on April 30, 1978. While orchestrating EN's two Mephisto Fantasies, I have attempted to emulate the orchestral sonorities of Liszt, Scriabin and Mahler.